Baal
Baal was a demon that was unleashed from the underworld when Ruby Knowby released the evil contained within the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. He first appeared in Ash vs Evil Dead Season Two and is portrayed by Joel Tobeck. He serves as the primary antagonist of season two. Biography Not much was known about Baal, but he had a connection to Ruby. Baal has the power to create paranoia and discord in everyone as Ruby tells Kelly that he is no ordinary demon, he relies on his ability to seduce and mind control (even Ruby once fell to his tempation) his victims rather than brute force. He is unleashed after Pablo is tricked into creating a portal to hell, which forms in the trunk of the Delta, a fiery demonic entity is seen leaving it afterwards. Baal, after escaping from hell steals the skin off a deputy and attempts to kill Ash by testing to see if he is the "El Jefe". He sends a Baal Demon after him which ultimately fails. Baal persuades Thomas Emery to join him in killing Ash, and uses the angry town folk to his advantage, he kills and disguises himself as one of the townfolk and leads the mob to Ash's old home where they start throwing objects and even shooting at the house. After Ash kills Cheryl Williams who was a Deadite, in front of the townfolk, he finally convinces them of his innocences but his victory is short lived as Baal mananges to subdue him. Baal later poses as Doctor Peacock, a psychiatrist at a mental hospital and attempts to twist Ash's mind into believing he was deluded. Baal tells him that in order to start recovering from his mental breakdown, Ash would have to destroy the source of his delusion. Which was the Necronomicon, Baal's only known weakness. After believing he killed two innocent people and a visit from Linda, Ash seemingly believed Baal's deception and accepted his delusion. Baal released Ash from his restraints and told him to destroy the book, which is currently Pablo. Ash began hunting Pablo down, and traps both Pablo and Ruby in a closet. Pablo leaves only to be dragged off by Ash and chained up. Baal appears and tells Ash to kill him only for Ash to free Pablo and reveal that it was Baal who being manipulated as Ash needed Baal and Pablo to be in the same room for the banishment ritual to begin. Ruby and others fight Baal and manage to restrain him long enough for Pablo to banish him, only for the Baal to bisect him with his claw, killing Pablo. Baal was not dead nor vanquished however, he was merely hiding in Pablo's corpse and had made Ash believe he was hallucinating when he told him to go back in time to change things. Baal re-emerges from Pablo corpse shocking Ash before the 80's version of Ruby who Ash encountered earlier, knocks him out and brings him and Kelly to the cabin. Ash challenges Baal to fist fight with the condition that if he wins, Ash gets Pablo back and Baal, Ruby and his children goes to hell. Ash demonstrates superior hand to hand fighting skills forcing Baal to use his demonic powers to cheat, which results in Ash losing his hand for the second time. Baal uses his illusions to try and trick but they fail, instead he and Ash end up in a chainsaw fight, both wielding the same chainsaw but from different timelines. Ash is disarmed and sent flying into the living area of the cabin where Baal claims victory, Ash asks for final words which Baal allows but gets distracted long enough by Ash's "final" words for Ash to use his own claw against him, defeating and sending him back to hell. Personality Baal initially claims a desire to outright destroy the world rather than rule or possess it, suggesting a far more destructive personality than the Kandarian Demon which only seeks to possess all humans of the world. Baal is intelligent and cunning, using disguises and his mental powers to turn his enemies against each other. As he tends to look down on humans as puny, he has no intention of keeping his promise to humans whom he makes bargains with this is apparent with Thomas Emery who he betrayed and Ash, who he promised not to use his powers in a fist fight but cheated anyway. He later says that he wants humans to bow down to evil, contradicting his previous destructive view. Whether he changed his mind due to Ash, who in spite of being a human keeps exceeding Baal's expectations is unknown. Powers and Abilities Baal is a demon that relies on his mind more than his strength and as such prefers to manipulate others using his telepathy. * Immortality: Baal was immortal and could not be killed by natural means, in fact only the Necronomicon had the power to defeat him. * Super-Strength: Baal was much stronger than Ruby, whom he easily overpowered. However, her powers were severely diminished at that point. * Super-Durability: Baal was physically tougher than Human and possibly Deadites. * Telepathy: Baal has the ability to read minds and look through their memories. ** Perception Manipulation: Baal frequently appeared and engaged in communication without anyone noticing he was there, only the person he was talking to him could see him. Baal could also create minor illusions though there seemed to be a limit to what he was capable of as in order to convince Ash he was in a mental hospital, he had to have Ash physically brought to a real one as well as have people physically there, though disguised by his illusions. Baal didn't seem to be able to conjure an actual reality around Ash and needed a physical basis. ** Mind-control: Baal's signature ability is to seduce and warp other's minds, though some such as Ash can resist it fairly. * Body jumping: Baal is capable of wearing human skin and using their voice without being noticed, the only weakness of this power is the skin is loose and can be pulled off. Despite Ruby calling as such, Baal initially doesn't really body jump, but simply steals the skin of those who disguises himself as. Baal did display true body jumping ability when his body was being destroyed, as he transferred his essence into Pablo. * Razor-sharp claw: Baal used a single claw on his right digit to skin his victims and is capable of bisecting a human. Baal's signature claw is ultimately what vanquished him as Ash used it against him. Appearances *Ash vs Evil Dead Season Two **"DUI" (voice only) **"Confinement" **"Trapped Inside" **"Delusion" **"Ashy Slashy" **"Second Coming" Notes * Information comes from the official STARZ website. * It's very likely that this character is inspired from the demon Baal (sometimes spelled Bael or Baell) mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the Hebrew Bible, Baal is one of the seven princes of Hell. Category:Characters Category:Demons Category:Ash vs. Evil Dead Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Main Antagonists Category:Antagonists Category:Living Characters